The Karrar (Striker in English) is a Main Battle Tank (MBT) fully developed and designed by the Iranian defense industry. This tank was unveiled for the first time to the public in August 2016. A video footage from Iranian Television "Telewebion" was published on YouTube showing the Karrar main battle during trials in the desert. In March 2017, the Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan has inaugurate the production line of the new home-made Karrar main battle tank at the Bani-Hashem Armor Industrial Complex in Dorud County, Lorestan. According to military experts, the Karrar MBT is based on the chassis of the Soviet-made T-72 but fitted with a new turret. The design of the tank seems to be very similar to the Russian-made T-90MS main battle tank. According to retired Major General Vladimir Bogatyrev, the Karrar is a copy of the Russian-made T-90MS, the most advanced modification of the T-90 family but it uses some features of American M1 Abrams and British Challenger 2. Russian military expert suggested that in terms of certain military capabilities the Karrar is unlikely to match the Russian T-90.

The Karrar MBT Main Battle Tank is fitted with a new welded turret which is armed with a a 125 mm smoothbore gun fitted with a fume extractor and a thermal sleeve. The cannon can fire all standard ammunition as the armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) and high-explosive fragmentation (HEF) and anti-tank guided missiles. At the base of the gun barrel is mounted a polygonal metal sleeve which has a series of small openings for air cooling of the barrel. This system could provide better stabilization of the main gun during firing on the move. The turret is equipped with a carousel automatic loader mounted on the turret floor and also on the rear wall of the turret. Second armament of the Karrar includes a remotely-operated weapon station armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted at the rear of the commander hatch. It includes a day/night sight, a thermal imager and a laser rangefinder. There is two banks of three smoke grenade dischargers on each side on the top of the turret.

Second armament of the Karrar includes a remotely-operated weapon station armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted at the rear of the commander hatch.

Design and protection

The general layout of the Karrar MBT is similar to Russian tanks divided into three compartments with driver's at the front of the hull, the turret in the centre and the power pack at the rear. The other two crew members are seated in the turret, with the gunner on the left and the commander on the right. The Karrar is protected with a new armour package with ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) at the front of the hull and the turret which gives protection against chemical energy and kinetic energy attack. The roof of the turret is protected with additional armour and each sides are fitted with spaced composite armor modules. To increase the protection of the tank against RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) threats, the rear part of the turret and the hull are covered by wire cage armour.

Close view of the roof of Karrar MBT, with the commander hatch on the right with the remote weapon station and gunner hatch on the left.

Mobility

The Karrar MBT is fitted with a new powerpack to increase speed and mobility in all-terrain conditions. The torsion bar suspension each side consists of six road wheels with the idler at the front, drive sprocket at the rear and three return rollers supporting the inside of the track only. To increase the operational range of the tank, two 200 litre diesel fuel drum can be added at the rear of the hull.

Accessories

Standard equipment of the Karrar MBT includes an overpressure-type NBC protection system, night vision equipment for all three crew members, electro-optical fire control system, laser rangefinder, and ballistic computer. All the crew members has digital control panels and a new battlefield management system to enhance the combat effectiveness of tank commanders by integrating digital battle maps, situational awareness, communications and sensor systems. The Karrar is equipped with a new independent sight for the tank's commander. The gunner has a day sight and a thermal imaging fire control system that can be used for both day and night, stationary and on the move operations offering rapid and high-accuracy target engagement, in all combat situations. A white searchlight is mounted to the left side of the gunner hatch. To the left side of the driver position is mounted a new camera system near to the single wide-angle day observation periscope. On the top rear of the turret, there is also a meteorological mast including sensors that can transmit automatically to the fire control all data about wind speed and wind direction, air temperature and atmospheric pressure. The font of the hull is fitted with new LED headlights.

The gunner has a day sight and a thermal imaging fire control system that can be used for both day and night operations.